


The Pain of the Past

by larislynn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, reader is a waterbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24850198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larislynn/pseuds/larislynn
Summary: From anon on tumblr: “can you do a sokka x reader where it’s the first anniversary of the readers parents death and the Gaang doesn’t know and the reader kinda breaks down and sokka comforts her?”
Relationships: Sokka (Avatar)/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 81





	The Pain of the Past

The morning sun shone through the window, waking you up with a start. Looking around, you could see the others were still fast asleep. Taking a deep breath, you slid out of bed, tip toeing to your bag. You couldn’t just sit around moping all day, you decided. It’d be best to find something to do. 

The door opened with a loud squeak and you cringed. Apparently Katara didn’t have time to oil the hinges before her meeting with the Earth King yesterday. Risking a quick glance backwards, you saw Sokka looking at you with a puzzled expression. “Where’re you going,” he asked sleepily.

“I’m just headed to the market, I’ll be back soon. Go back to sleep.” Something told you lying to him was a bad idea, but what else were you supposed to say? “Oh yeah, my parents were killed a year ago today, so I’m going to head into the city and mope instead of making everyone else sad.” You couldn’t say that to him, you didn’t want to. So instead, you lied.

“Alright then, be careful.” He yawned and headed back to his bed.

“I know you're lying.” You spun around to see Toph standing in the open doorway behind you, arms crossed across her chest. 

“Spirits, Toph, you scared me. What are you talking about?”

She raised an eyebrow before responding, “I can tell when people are lying, duh. And it’s bad enough to lie to your friends, let alone your boyfriend.” You glanced down, ashamed. Toph was right, but that didn’t mean you didn’t have a just cause for what you did. 

“Look, it’s a long story, but I’m not doing anything dangerous, I just need to get out and clear my head.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, you just needed some space.

“Alright, fine. But at least pick me up some tarts or something while you’re out. That way you’ll have actually gone to the market.”

“Sure, no problem. And let’s just keep this between ourselves, okay?”

“Do I look like a snitch to you?” 

“Well, I mean,” you tried to answer without lying but she stopped you.

“It was a rhetorical question, genius. Just go.”

You thanked her and left, taking a deep breath of fresh air once you were outside. The city was no longer blocked off, so you found yourself wandering towards the refugee sector. There was a small tree along the wall, and you felt yourself drawn to it. Something about it reminded you of home. 

Sitting down next to it, you put your head in your hands. It was hard to cope with the loss, so instead you pushed the memory away, electing to focus on the war effort instead. Today the memory was playing on a loop in your mind, and you couldn’t push it away. 

Putting your hand on the trunk of the tree, you could feel the water running through it, giving it life. The subtle flow of water helped to calm you, and you stepped away from the tree, taking a steadying breath.

Out of the corner of your eye you sensed motion, and knew a Dai Lee agent was there. Moving quickly along the wall, you entered into the poorer area of Ba Sing Se. The crowded streets allowed you to blend in effortlessly, hiding in plain sight. 

A pastry cart was off to the side of the busy road, and remembering your promise to Toph, you walked up to it. A variety of delicious, freshly baked desserts were on display and you couldn’t help but smile. Taking out your coin purse, you asked the man for an egg custard tart. Then you noticed a seawood cookie on the far side of the cart, partially hidden from view. A stab of pain went through your heart, memories of your parent’s cooking resurfacing. You asked the man for the cookie also, and after paying, headed to a semi-crowded area of the city. 

Sitting on a bench, you took out the seaweed cookie and sighed. It had been over a year since you had seen one, much less eaten one. The flavor was just like you remembered, a bit salty yet still sweet. It tasted like home. A tear leaked out of the corner of your eye and you brushed it away angrily. You feared if you started mourning now, you would never stop. 

Aang’s voice called out to you through the crowd, “Hey! I thought you told Sokka you were going to the market?”   
  


“Oh, I did, I wanted to get these, uh, pastries,” you held up the bag as Aang came over and sat next to you. Sighing internally, you knew you’d need to find a way to get him to leave. Faking enthusiasm, you asked, “Did you see that new zoo setup outside the city walls? From what I heard it’s a really great experience!” 

He smiled broadly, “Oh, yeah, I helped to build it actually! I can show you around if you want!”

“That’s alright, maybe some other time. I want to be alone right now, I’m trying out some meditation.”

“Okay, see you at dinner!” With that he was off, back to looking around the market. Just when you thought you were in the clear, you felt a presence behind you.

“Why do you keep lying to everyone today?” 

“Look Toph,” you said, turning to face her, “I’m just going through some things and need to be alone. It’s some heavy stuff, and I don’t want to bring the others down.” 

She looked hurt, “We’re your family! You can confide in us!”

“Maybe later, but right now I’d rather not,” you stood up and stepped towards her, “Here’s your tart. I’ll be back at dinner.” As you turned to walk away, a rock jutted up from the ground, causing you to fall. “Hey! What’s your problem?” 

“What’s yours? You’ve been lying to us and avoiding us all day! This isn’t right!”

Sokka turned the corner, and hearing the commotion, ran over to the two of you. “What’s going on here?”

Toph sighed loudly, “That’s exactly what I want to know!” 

“Look, you want to know? Fine. One year ago today, the Fire Nation took both of my parents from me. I feel like it was my fault, and I don’t know what to do, okay?” Tears pooled in your eyes and you tried to brush them away, but it was too much. They begin spilling over and running down your face, and your chest tightened as you tried to hold back a sob. You turned away, not wanting to show how weak you really were. This time, Toph let you leave. 

You reached the house, and opened the door, slipping inside noiselessly. Thankfully, it didn’t squeak this time, letting you go unnoticed, or so you thought. Sokka was sitting on the edge of your bed, a worried expression on his face. When he saw you enter your room, he stood and walked over to you. “You could have told me what was going on. I’m always here to listen, you know that.” 

“Exactly, I didn’t want to talk about it because I knew if I did, I’d completely break down. I never really had a chance to mourn their death, I just focused on winning the war; on getting vengeance.”

He pulled you into a hug, “Well now that I know, do you want to tell me what happened?”

You nodded, burying your face in his shoulder. “They were out on our boat, fishing for dinner. I usually went, it was safer for me since I could waterbend. But I was too sick to go that day. A fire navy ship followed them at a distance, I could see the steam from my bedroom window. I rushed out to warn them but it was too late,” you took a breath, struggling to finish the story. “The captain pulled the boat alongside, and ordered them to turn over the waterbender that kept stealing all their fish. He was talking about me. When they pretended they didn’t know what he was talking about, he set the boat on fire. They couldn’t get out, and died in the flames.”

Sokka led you to the bed where you leaned into him while you cried, “It’s okay to feel sadness, to feel regret. After my mom was killed, I wanted to become a soldier so badly, to avenge her death. But if you don’t let the emotion out first, it will slowly eat away at you, until all that’s left is anger and sadness. I can leave now, if you still want your space.”

“No,” you responded quickly, “I mean, please stay. I don’t want to be alone anymore.” He nodded, and you curled up against him. Sometime after that, you both fell asleep.

When you awoke the next morning, your eyes felt dry from crying, but you felt safe with Sokka’s arms still wrapped around you. You still wanted to end the war to avenge your parents, but you now also had the strength to recognize how you felt. Losing one family had let you gain another, and you knew they would always be there for you.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was requested anonymously on tumblr! Requests are open, visit my tumblr @thenewlarislynn for more details! As always, kudos and comments are appreciated! <3


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